Berhampur: The civic body's animal birth control (ABC) programme of stray dogs has remained a non-starter for various issues.

The Berhampur Municipal Corporation had launched the initiative to sterilise the animals in 2013. However, it could not implement the programme till now because of lack of veterinary staff.

Additional health officer E. Ranjit Kumar Patra said: "We had requested the chief district veterinary officer several times to co-operate with us to tackle the stray dog menace. But it did not pay heed. We have now sought the district collector's help."

Chief district veterinary officer Rabindra Maharatha said: "Though the ABC programme to sterilise the stray dogs is a co-ordinated venture of the civic body and the veterinary department, we do not have any staff for the purpose. The government has to appoint one veterinary surgeon for the purpose. I have already communicated the matter to the government. Even after appointment, both the inspector and the veterinary surgeon will have to be trained on the truck-training concept at the International Training Centre of the World Veterinary Service in Ooty. We have already identified two Group-D employees for the purpose," Maharatha said.

There are more than 22,000 stray dogs in Berhampur.